Granite Broadcasting history

Later in 1992 Granite initiated a $100 million junk bond sale to refinance the rest of the company's debt, but high-yield market conditions soured, and Cornwell was forced to cancel the offering.

By December 1993 Granite's balance sheet was strong enough to allow renewed expansion.

The company paid Meredith Corp. $30 million for two stations, WTVH-TV in Syracuse, New York, and KSEE-TV in Fresno, California. It would eventually become part of the Granite fold in June 1995 and be renamed WNBW-TV.

Granite unloaded other properties in 1999, selling its Austin television station for $160 million in cash and WEEK-FM for $1.15 million (thereby putting at least a temporary end to Cornwell's plan of creating synergy between local television and radio stations).

The industry, as well as Wall Street, was then stunned when NBC and Granite announced that Granite had agreed to pay NBC $362 million to make KNTV the NBC affiliate that would serve San Francisco beginning in 2002.

In April 2006, Granite bought out WBNG-TV in Binghamton from SJL Broadcasting, which was in the process of liquidating its broadcasting holdings, which paid $45 million to cost.

Cornwell served as CEO and chairman of Granite until stepping down in 2009.

In February 2014, Granite reached deals to sell the majority of its stations.